Introduction
One of the most contentious eras in American history is the turn of the 20th century. In his book Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America, Eric Rauchway delves into the specifics of the disaster that took place on September 6, 1901 (Rauchway 2007). As a result, the United States’ political trajectory underwent profound changes. Focusing on the details of Leon Czolgosz’s assassination of American President William McKinley, Rauchway also discusses the distinctive aspects of political and social life in the USA at the turn of the 20th century (Rauchway 2007). The author pays close attention to the specifics of that day as he tells the whole account of McKinley’s murder in his book. The impact of the murder on the assassin, Leon Czolgosz’s psyche, his motivations, and the country’s future political evolution which was tied to Theodore Roosevelt’s character. Therefore, this essay expounds on how Rauchway extrapolates the transition from Roosevelt’s Progressive era to McKinley’s conservative period.
Ideas Presented by Rauchway
Rauchway (2007) states that the political modernization which came with Theodore Roosevelt was the result of killing McKinley. This act was implemented by a person who endured severe hardships during the McKinley administration. Because of this, the President had two assassins who robbed him of his life and authority. The materials that pertain to the period under analysis and Dr. Lloyd Vernon Briggs’ journals serve as the foundation for Eric Rauchway’s explanation of the many facets of the murder (Rauchway 2007). The discussion also assesses the killer’s character as well as the accident’s subsequent effects on the political and social environment where Leon Czolgosz’s life’s specifics were fixed. After summarizing Briggs’ observations, Rauchway tells the tale of an average American who is so unhappy with his life that he plans to assassinate the President. Being mentally sane but physically ill and longing for impending death causes these societal issues.
The assassination of William McKinley marked a turning point in the conservative political trajectory between the 19th and 20th centuries. Rauchway focuses on the life of Leon Czolgosz in the midst of key social events in order to clarify the distinguishing characteristics of the shift from the point of view of the typical American’s life (Rauchway 2007). As a result, towards the start of the 20th century, American society reexamined the results of the industrial revolution, which had both positive and negative consequences (Rauchway 2007).
Rauchway calls attention to the fact that the Czolgosz family was one of the many in the USA who suffered from the revolution. Rauchway presents the murder of McKinley as a specific result of Czolgosz’s sufferings because he positioned himself as an anarchist, focusing on the idea that all events have their causes and effects. In addition, the death of one President marked the beginning of the activities of the other President. Generally, Rauchway showcases that the murder of a leader never prevented the continuation of the administrative processes.
Rauchway (2007) highlights the variety of Roosevelt’s approaches in his book as he examines the early outcomes of the President’s progressive agenda and modernization of society. According to the author, Roosevelt’s reforms and modification of the political course were too radical, and allusions only backed them to potential threats from additional anarchist attacks (Rauchway 2007). Because of this, it was common for the public to interpret Leon Czolgosz’s actions as being motivated by anarchism. Rauchway addresses the issue of McKinley’s murder as well as several facets of Roosevelt’s course development in this way, claiming that McKinley was murdered twice (Rauchway 2007). As a result, the author paints a realistic portrait of America in the late 19th century, when the industrial revolution significantly impacted social development. This was convincingly depicted by examining the characteristics of Leon Czolgosz’s life and his potential motivations for killing the President.
Conclusion
Rauchway discusses the effects of McKinley’s murder while examining the features of Roosevelt’s Progressive Era because the murder may be seen as the catalyst for the start of an active alteration of the old order as well as for modernizing society and politics. Because the author offers a somewhat challenging view of the events that defined the time between the 19th and 20th centuries in the USA, Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America is worth reading the audience should discuss it. Additionally, the author skillfully weaves together the discussion of every contentious issue related to politics, the economy, and social life. Additionally, Rauchway offers the solutions by outlining the details of Czolgosz’s case.
Reference
Rauchway, Erick. 2007. Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America. Washington. Hill and Wang.